Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - 時計じかけのオレンジ完全版

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

時計じかけのオレンジ完全版 by Anthony Burgess

160 reviews

bokslukaren's review against another edition

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I've never read a book that plays with language the way Burgess plays with it in “A Clockwork Orange”. The book, though written in English, contains an equal amount of “nadsat” words. These made-up teenage slang words were very hard to discern based solely on the context and for the first 30 pages I needed to have the book's Wiktionary beside the page at all times. The mix of older English and Nadsat was unique, to say the least, with both of the following sentences being said by the same character: “If fear thou hast in thy heart, O brother, pray banish it forthwith.” (page 18) and later “If it was all rainy and cally now on the ground you could have my platties to walk on so as not to cover your dainty nogas with filth and cal.” (page 95). The fact that each of the three parts starts in the same way and pattern, though with different implications, was very satisfying, but alas the story felt shallow and didn't at all compare to other dystopian works I've read.

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krmreads2024's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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quillson's review against another edition

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Hated the pace and the made up language/slang. Not interested in reading about the character commit violent and heinous crimes

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riep's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Please look at trigger warnings first!

I recommend to look up the nadsat-vocabulary early in the reading process, it becomes way easier afterwards.

A very brutal, honest and deep story. Needs some getting used to, but I definitely recommend!

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deathmetalheron's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

If I were more clever + had more time I'd write this in Nadsat, but I'm not and I don't.

A Clockwork Orange is brilliant to say the least, and I think a firm example of where the book is just so clearly a superior format for the storytelling than the film will ever be. Narration in films is often a crutch, but in books it's one of the best tools for establishing character and tone of your story. Alex, the protagonist of the story, is so clearly in his own head that he cannot and will not divulge the details of his misgivings and his deeds. He is clearly a bad person and does horrible things but ultimately the narration is so supremely done because it distances the viewer from these actions--there is no voyeurism here, Alex is evil but so clearly inhuman that I found myself able to read about disgusting or awful occurrences with virtually no misgivings. It's an incredible feat to have been pulled off by Burgess to weave into the text such obtuse vocabulary to build Nadsat, not to mention it was done in three weeks.

Beyond the narration, the commentary being society's obsession with "rooting out" evil and social distortion while at the same time CAUSING said distortion is very palpable. Alex is certainly an evil figure but by the time the story has finished Alex's story feels tragic, but not in a sad way due to the fact it's Alex. ACO sort of feels like a litmus test for authoritarian punishment--do you wish a fate worse than death on the biggest dregs of society?

And it's the final chapter that throws me for a loop and prevents me from going 5/5. On the one hand,

yes, the fact it's so quick and is effectively another story plot line feels very rushed. To be fair I completely sympathize with the American publisher's instinct to get rid of it. At the same time, isn't it incredible how ultimately society's perceived social issues are solved not with intervention but with time? Alex's instincts towards criminal acts disappear the older he gets--while the crimes he commits are heinous, it didn't take the Ludovico technique to fix him--just time. Perhaps the real conspirator of societal evil is not the individual that commits the crime, but the society that enables the method of evil?

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giftofbooks's review against another edition

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dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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huntahejdare's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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morralia's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The nasdat language made it a very annoying read but I loved the book it was interesting how my perspective of the main character switches throughout the book and I the last chapter originally removed from the first american edition of Clockwork orange makes a big difference of how you see the book as a whole

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